CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney endorsed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for president on Tuesday, and announced he would chair Cruz’s campaign in West Virginia.
Mooney is the first of West Virginia’s four congressional Republicans to endorse a candidate in the crowded Republican presidential primary.
“I have had the pleasure of visiting with Sen. Cruz on several occasions to discuss the shared conservative policies for which we are fighting in Congress,” Mooney said in a prepared statement released by the Cruz campaign. “Sen. Cruz has proven by his actions that he will stand firm in defense of the freedoms and traditional Judeo-Christian values which we cherish, even when under great pressure.”
Cruz’s father, Rafael, a close adviser, visited Charleston in 2014 to speak at a fundraiser for local Republicans. During his visit, Rafael Cruz said President Barack Obama “operates like a tyrant.”
Cruz is, so far, one of three major presidential candidates to file for a spot on West Virginia’s primary ballot.
Republican business executives Donald Trump and Carly Fiorina have also filed.